Architects Urge Preservation of Historic Santa Cruz Silo Facing Demolition

The Santa Cruz silo in Tenerife is a little-known but fascinating abandoned building. Many people don't notice it because it's close to the old Santa Cruz de Tenerife Spa, even though it's historically and industrially significant.

This silo was built during Franco's rule as part of a national plan to store grain, mainly wheat. The goal was to prevent food shortages, a problem Europe faced after World War I.

Now, the College of Architects of Tenerife, La Gomera, and El Hierro is asking for the silo to be protected and reused, as there are plans to demolish it soon.

Located near the San Andrés highway (TF-11), the Santa Cruz silo is the only one of its kind in the Canary Islands. It's a rare "Type P" model, with only two ever built in Spain: one in Malaga (which has already been torn down) and this one in Tenerife's capital.

These Type P silos were designed for ports to handle grain. Grain would arrive, be stored briefly, and then shipped to other parts of Spain or, in the case of the Canary Islands, to different islands.

You can easily recognize the Santa Cruz silo by its tall, vertical storage tower, which was a major technological achievement at the time. This tower used machinery to lift the grain, making the work much easier for laborers.

According to the blog "El Viajero Histórico," grain was unloaded into underground bins. From there, it was sent up the tower by conveyor belts to be distributed into brick or cement storage compartments, where it was kept safe until it was ready to be shipped out.

At the Santa Cruz silo, the grain was packaged on the ground floor and then loaded directly onto ships, making it a key location for trade between the islands.

The silo fell into disuse in the 1980s after Spain joined the European Economic Community (EEC). When the government's control over wheat ended, many of these facilities became obsolete. Some silos across Spain were turned into museums or cultural centers, while others became canvases for street art.

However, the Tenerife silo was left abandoned, standing as a quiet reminder of the island's past in agriculture and industry. Today, it remains a symbol of a time of self-sufficiency and strategic storage, and is one of the most intriguing buildings in Santa Cruz de Tenerife's overlooked heritage.

The College of Architects is now urging that the Santa Cruz port silo be preserved and repurposed.

The organization is calling on the authorities to start a discussion involving experts, cultural figures, and the public. This would help explain the silo's historical and architectural importance, leading to "a fair, informed decision that benefits everyone."

Given the news of its impending demolition, the Dean of the College, María Nieves Febles, stressed that beyond its aesthetic and architectural merit, demolishing it would mean "losing a piece of this city's legacy and history."

The College also pointed out that the silo is listed in the draft Catalog of Protection of Cultural Heritage of Santa Cruz, a document currently being processed as part of urban planning.

"It's currently in the process of being protected. That's why we at the COA believe that demolishing it without considering other potential uses is an attack on the city's heritage," Febles stated.

The Dean of the COA, along with heritage specialists, will meet with officials from the Port Authority of Tenerife this Wednesday to highlight the importance of preserving this structure and making it accessible to the public.